Warm Up and Cool Down

Major Grade Project

DUE: Monday, September 26th (A) and Tuesday, September 27th (B)
A good warm-up dilates your blood vessels, ensuring that your muscles are well supplied with oxygen.
It also raises your muscles temperature for optimal flexibility and efficiency. By slowly raising your
heart rate, the warm-up also helps minimize stress on your heart.
Warming up before any workout or sport is critical for preventing injury and prepping your body,
said Johnny Lee, M.D., director of the Asian Heart Initiative at the New York University Langone
Medical Center and president of New York Heart Associates in New York City.
Stretching allows for greater range of motion and eases the stress on the joints and tendons, which
could potentially prevent injury. Warming up, such as low-heart rate cardio, prepares the circulatory
and respiratory system for the upcoming age- and type-appropriate target heart rate exercising,
whether its endurance or sprint type of activities.
The cool-down is just as critical. It keeps the blood flowing throughout the body. Stopping suddenly
can cause light-headedness because your heart rate and blood pressure drop rapidly.
Warm up
Before you exercise, think about warming up your muscles like you would warm up your car. It
increases the temperature and flexibility of your muscles, and helps you be more efficient and safer
during your workout. A warm-up before moderate- or vigorous-intensity aerobic activity allows a
gradual increase in heart rate and breathing at the start of the activity.
Tips: Your warm up should resemble the type of workout you will be doing. Focus on the joints and
muscle groups that will be active during your workout to ensure that those parts of your body are
ready for exercise. Likewise, for more intense workouts, you will need a longer warm up.
Cool down
Cooling down after a workout is as important as warming up. After physical activity, your heart is still
beating faster than normal, your body temperature is higher and your blood vessels are dilated. This
means if you stop too fast, you could pass out or feel sick. A cool-down after physical activity allows a
gradual decrease at the end of the episode.
Tips: Check your heart rate periodically as you cool down to ensure that you are gradually
decreasing from your target heart rate. Your cool down should also resemble the type of workout
you just completed.
Stretching
Its good to stretch when youre cooling down while your limbs, muscles, and joints are still warm.
Stretching can help reduce the buildup of lactic acid, which can lead to muscles cramping and
stiffness. Stretching essentially allows your muscles to elongate to provide your joints a greater range
of motion and to reduce the tension around tendons, thus preventing future injury.
Tips: Hold each stretch 10 to 30 seconds. If you feel you need more, stretch the other side and return
for another set of stretching. The stretch should be strong, but not painful. Do not bounce. Breathe
while youre stretching. Exhale as you stretch, and inhale while holding the stretch.

Project Instructions
1. What kind of workout does your group want to do today? Your warm up and cool
down should correlate with the type of main exercise the class will be performing.
Ms. Mason will lead the main exercise, but your group will begin and end class. You will
have 15 minutes for warm up and 10 minutes for cool down.
2. Begin your warm up with dynamic stretches and light cardiovascular exercises.
Choose FOUR different exercises or movements from the list below to include in your
introduction.
3. Create ONE unique dynamic stretch or cardiovascular exercise to include in your
warm up.
4. Arrange the introductory exercises in an appropriate order from least strenuous to most
strenuous.
5. Determine the amount of time or reps to perform each exercise.
6. Move on to larger and more involved warm up exercises. Your group will choose ONE
from the list below.
7. Create ONE unique larger and more involved warm up exercise.
8. After we have warmed up, Ms. Mason will lead the class in 30 minutes of exercise.
9. After the exercise is completed, you will lead cool down.
10. Choose ONE light cardiovascular exercise from the list below that will gradually bring
our heart rates down.
11. Choose FOUR dynamic stretches that focus on the muscles that were primarily used
during exercise.
12. Create ONE unique dynamic stretch to include in your cool down.
13. AFTER YOU HAVE COMPLETED STEPS 1-12, MOVE ON TO STEPS 14-18 FOR YOUR ENTIRE
PROJECT.
14. Determine the amount of time or reps to perform each exercise.
15. Research the correct way to perform these exercises and learn the correct
anatomical terminology to explain which muscles are working.
16. Research common mistakes that are made when performing the exercises you have
included in your warm up. Give reasons why these mistakes are common, what injuries
may occur from performing the movements incorrectly, and ways to correct your
form.
17. Each group member should be responsible for leading and demonstrating at least one
exercise during your class.
18. Create a playlist that is appropriate in language and content that will accompany
your warm up and cool down. Playlist should be long enough for the entire
presentation.

Cardiovascular Exercises
Jogging in place
Speed walking
Jogging
Running
Jumping jacks
Stationary lunges
Walking lunges
Jumping lunges
Speed skaters
Squats
Squat jumps
Karaoke
High knees
Heel kicks

Dynamic stretches
Lunge with reach
Arm circles with squat
Side lunges with reach
Reach and pull with heel kick
Walking lunges with a twist
Straight leg kicks
Knee to chest

Static stretches
Runners lunge
2nd position hamstring reach
Sit and reach
Straddle
V sit
Leg crossover glute stretch
Meditation glute stretch
Downward dog
Overlapping legs reach to toes
Arm across deltoid stretch
Arm behind tricep stretch
Hands clasped behind back bicep stretch

Grading Rubric
Criteria
Required warm up exercises
--FOUR cardiovascular/dynamic from
list
--ONE unique
--ONE more intense cardiovascular
--ONE unique
Required cool down exercises
--ONE cardiovascular from list
--FOUR dynamic or static stretches
--ONE unique dynamic or static
stretch
Correct terminology
Written exercises with script
Playlist quality and quantity

Individual performance
--Clarity and professionalism
--Volume
--Full and proper demonstration
--Correct information given
Peer evaluation

Points
20 points total (-5 for any missing
exercise)

20 points total (-5 for any missing

exercise)

10 points
20 points
10 points (automatic zero in category
for inappropriate content or
language, -5 for playlist being too
short)
20 points (5 points for each
subcategory)

10 points